Paint Schoodic

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Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Reconnoitering, day one

Pendleton Point Beach, 8X6, oil on canvas, sold.

I have allotted two days to reconnoiter painting sites for
my Belfast workshop. Yes, I am familiar with the Belfast area, but finding
spots for a group of painters is different from finding spaces for solo
painting.

Pup waiting for the Islesboro ferry. So good.

The first step was to take the ferry to Islesboro. I took my
student Loren with me—since he lives in Maine anyway—and we drove the length of
the island before settling on a public beach. It’s a different feeling from
Monhegan: more sheltered because it’s within Penobscot bay, and a gentler
landscape. It’s also more accessible, which is what’s important in this
workshop, since in part I designed it around the needs of a mobility-impaired
student. Monhegan is beautiful, but it’s simply impossible to navigate the
ferry and the steep slopes if you’re not fit.

Loren Brown's oil sketch of Pendleton Point beach.

Islesboro, on the other hand, is a Maine community, rather
than a tourist attraction. We ran across a “save our post office” rally; had we
had more time, I would have joined in.

Loren and I both painted small sketches to make sure our
designated painting site worked. Mine sold from my easel. That doesn’t happen
often, but when it does, it makes me very happy.

Lighthouse at Islesboro ferry landing.

When I got back to the mainland, I stopped at the Fireside
Inn to check on our arrangements. It not only has a salt-water pool, but said
pool has a lift for mobility-impaired swimmers to get in and out. As my friend
Pamela says, this workshop has “flow.”

I ran across my dream home along the way.

Sorry, folks. My workshop in Belfast, ME is sold out. Message me if you want a
spot on my waitlist, or information about next year’s programs. Information is
available here.